The University of New Mexico in plans to launch $1m university venture fund.

US-based University of New Mexico (UNM) is reportedly preparing a $1m fund to back at least 10 startups commercialising university inventions.

Lisa Kuuttila, president and chief executive of Science and Technology Corporation (STC), which manages UNM’s technology commercialisation, told news provider Albuquerque Journal, that the UNM Foundation and the directing board of the STC agreed to create the fund if regents approve it next month.

Kuuttila, who is on the board of directors of New Mexico Angels, added to the Journal: “If approved, the foundation would provide $1m that the STC would use to boost capital commitments by other local investors in startup companies. We won’t make unilateral commitments, but rather co-invest with angel investors or venture capital funds.”

She told Global University Venturing: “For the [past] year or so, UNM has forged a partnership among the city, county, business community to build on our success in spinning off companies. It is a project called Innovate ABQ. The ‘place’ will be a live, work, play community near downtown Albuquerque, to really leverage the entrepreneurial community in New Mexico to the next level. In order to do so, we need additional capital sources. The UNM Foundation is also an important partner in the Innovate project and thus our alliance on the Co-Investment Fund you read about.”

UNM already provides gap funding for university faculty and researchers to continue developing commercially promising technologies after study grants have dried up. Since 2007, UNM has provided $525,000 in gap grants for 22 different UNM technologies, Kuuttila told the Journal, leading to six startup companies, with three more planned.

Last year, UNM said gap funding recipients were:

  • Magnetodynamic Activation of 13C- Acyl-Isoniazid (hINH)1: Graham Timmins, Ph.D., Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences (College of Pharmacy)
  • At Last: Inexpensive Ultrafast Telecom Optical Receivers with Ultra Low-Cost Photodetector Technology:Majeed Hayat, Ph.D.and Payman Zarkesh-Ha, Ph.D., Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering and Center for High Tech Materials (School of Engingeering)
  • Parallel Systems for High Throughput Flow Cytometry: Steven Graves, Ph.D. and Dr. Andrew Shreve, Ph.D., Department of Chemical and Nuclear Engineering and Center for Biomedical Engineering (School of Engineering)
  • A Blood Biomarker for Early Blood Brain Barrier Damage in Ischemic Stroke: Wenlan Liu, Ph.D and Ke J. (Jim) Liu, Ph.D., Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and BRaIN Center (College of Pharmacy)

New Mexico Angels Projects

  • A Novel and Improved Fungal-Based Agricultural Biopesticide: Ravi Durvasula, Ph.D., Department of Internal Medicine (School of Medicine)
  • Parallel Systems for High Throughput Flow Cytometry: Steven Graves, Ph.D. and Dr. Andrew Shreve, Ph.D., Department of Chemical and Nuclear Engineering and Center for Biomedical Engineering (School of Engineering)
  • At Last: Inexpensive Ultrafast Telecom Optical Receivers with Ultra Low-Cost Photodetector Technology:Majeed Hayat, Ph.D.and Payman Zarkesh-Ha, Ph.D., Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering and Center for High Tech Materials (School of Engingeering)
  • Curing “Ouch Mouth”: The Development of Lobocaine: Jason McConille, Ph.D., Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences (College of Pharmacy)